"The People's Charter developed and published by the London Working Men's Association on 6 May 1838 represented an attempt to change the political system of Britain". Rob Cumming looks at the state of play in Wiltshire ahead of the 'Chartist Riot' in Devizes, taking into the Chartist goals in the region and how their goals were viewed across the country and in government.
Tag: Devizes
Gleanings from Wiltshire Parish Registers 1538-1812
Parish registers have long been regarded as the preserve of family historians, and, more recently, demographic historians. They should be regarded not only as bureaucratic records of the rites of passage, or sources of population data, important as these are, but also as chronicles of communal memory and experience. In this study, Steve Hobbs reveals the wide range of historical research that can be informed by the memoranda and jottings found in these sources.
Criminals or Martyrs? Wiltshire Quakers and the Law in Seventeenth-Century England
The first recorded Quaker meeting in Wiltshire took place in 1653. From the very beginning, the Wiltshire Quakers were met with staunch opposition from the local authorities of law and order. It was widely believed among the ruling elite that the nonconformist nature of Quakerism would lead to widespread resistance to authority. In this article, Kay Taylor looks into the ways in which Quakerism in Wiltshire was criminalised, how the Quaker community sought to justify their practices, and the phenomenon of martyrdom.
‘An extraordinary fellow in his way’: Robert Cadman and Steeple Flying in South West England
This article tells the extraordinary story of Robert Cadman and his renowned steeple-flying performances throughout the South-West of England. Remarkably, Cadman hadn’t been the only one. John Penny follows the stories of the original ‘daredevils’ who gathered huge crowds at their dangerous performances and even appeared in the work of William Hogarth. These shocking spectacles were studded with moments of both calamity and ingenious choreography.
Changing Avebury
In this article, Brian Edwards follow the heritage timeline of Avebury, as well as incorporate the efforts of the heritage authorities to cash in and further popularise the history of Stonehenge and the surrounding area. The timeline stems from John Aubrey introducing Charles II to Avebury in 1663, to the impact that the Five Mile Act had on the surrounding environment.